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B.C.'s new metal theft law in effect this week

A scrap metal business in the 1900-block Triumph Street in Vancouver displays a sign outlining new provincial legislation aimed at curbing metal theft.

Photograph by: Ward Perrin
, PNG

B.C.'s new anti-metal-theft law came into effect today, putting greater scrutiny on the province’s scrapyards in an effort to dry up the lucrative market for hot metals.

The intent of the legislation is to thwart metal theft, a multi-million-dollar problem in B.C. where industrious thieves are stealing phone wires, street light wires and other objects made of metal.

Scrap dealers will have to record a seller’s name, birthdate, phone number and see a valid government identification when purchasing used metals. These records will be sent to police, along with daily descriptions of each piece of metal bought, which will allow law enforcement to find “trends” and crack down on thieves and the shady dealers that buy from them. Any scrap worth more than $50 must be paid out by cheques under the new law.

Chilliwack MLA John Les helped with the new law and said “it gives police more tools.”

Any yard not complying could face fines, ranging from $575 for first-time offenders Les said, up to $100,000 for businesses that repeatedly violate the law. Les conceded that before fines reach that level a scrap yard would likely be taken off the new provincial scrapyard registry, effectively making it illegal to buy any scrap.

The government has agreed to monitor the success of the legislation over the next six months, and to meet again in January with metal dealers to address any concerns.

While many scrapyards won't buy this banned material, there are some who still do.

A five-day series published in The Vancouver Sun last month detailed undercover stings by reporters selling prohibited metal, and raised questions about the effectiveness of the new law.

The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries - which argues the new rules penalize scrap dealers instead of targeting thieves and requiring utility companies to better protect their equipment - respects the government's decision to monitor the law for six months, said president Len Shaw earlier this month. But he doesn't believe this made-in-B.C. legislation will achieve its intended goal because the demand for metal - and the resulting high commodity prices - is fuelled by China and other countries.

"It's a knee-jerk political reaction," Shaw said.

The changes being sought by CARI, Shaw said, include:

The law doesn't tell dealers where to send the daily sales reports they must give to police, such as to a centralized location or to each police agency.

The Sun investigation found Surrey dealers haven't obeyed a two-year-old municipal bylaw requiring them to give daily reports to police because the city and RCMP never said where to send the forms.

In Vancouver, where dealers have been sending daily reports to police for years, Shaw questioned whether officers have time to read the reports or the resources to know if something was stolen.

"[Vancouver dealers] have not had one visit or one phone call from Vancouver police about the material they are sending in," he said, "because the law did not give any extra resources to police."

. The legislation does not cover so-called mobile dealers, who often do not have business licences but pick up scrap in trucks and recycle it for a fee. CARI argued they should face the same regulations as main-stream dealers.

"It's a gap that was identified by members at some point and clearly the province was unaware of it," Shaw said.

. The legislation says dealers can no longer pay cash for any sales more than $50, which has angered some yard owners. There is also concern that commercial customers selling industrial scrap are exempt from the new paper-work requirements, but not from cash payment restrictions. There needs to be "consistency," Shaw said.

. Clarification of how municipal metal theft bylaws in 12 B.C. cities will coexist with the new law, because dealers don't want to follow two different sets of rules.

Victoria consulted for months with dealers, police, municipalities, and utility companies to draw up this legislation, the first anti-metal-theft law in Canada.

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